When
 |
Where
|
Articles/Reviews
|
| March 24, 2002 | Los Angeles Times | "Barry in the Night" by Ann Conway: ...Performing at the Grove of Anaheim (March 14, 2002), easy-listening icon Barry Manilow crooned mega-hits such as "Mandy" and his new release, "Turn the Radio Up," during a benefit concert put on by KOST-FM on behalf of the American Heart Association. The "Love Songs Live" production helped raise $10,000 for the association's community education programs. "Thanks for coming to this special show," Manilow said. "But where are we? When KOST said they had a special evening planned, I didn't know we were going to be in beautiful, downtown Anaheim." Actually, he liked the 1,200-seat venue (the Grove is the former Sun Theatre) and added, "You know I like intimacy"... |
|---|
| March 22, 2002 | Entertainment Weekly | Barry Manilow is Entertainment Weekly's WINNER OF THE WEEK:
The magazine recognizes Barry's recent success with Ultimate Manilow, via applying new lyrics to his ever-popular hit "Copacabana": "His name is Barry / He is a singer / And 27 years ago, he scored Arista's first gold / That song was "Mandy" / And thanks to fans, he / Has now struck gold some more / As Ultimate flies out of stores." |
|---|
| March 21, 2002 | Houston Chronicle | "He never really went away, but Barry Manilow's back in a big way" by Alan K. Stout, interview with Barry. |
|---|
| Barry Manilow is back. The multi-award-winning singer is back on tour, and back with more and new music. His latest CD, Here at the Mayflower, is an ambitious concept album containing all new material, and another new CD, Ultimate Manilow, contains 20 smash hits from his storied career. Although Here at the Mayflower is a new release, Manilow says it was a long time in the making. "The idea came to me 20 years ago, but I didn't work on it every day for 20 years," Manilow says with a chuckle. "I thought, 'Wouldn't it be interesting to write an original album based on people's lives in an apartment building, and every cut would be about a different life behind an apartment door?' And that was it. I put the idea down on a piece of paper, and I put it away." Over the next two decades, says Manilow, he occasionally would scribble down a song title for the project or call one of his collaborators and work on some music. Finally, about three years ago, he realized he had accumulated enough material to begin work on the album. And thanks to studio computer technology, he did just about everything alone. Here at the Mayflower, says Manilow, is completely his baby. "I was able to make it in my studio, all by myself, and play all of the instruments and arrange all of the songs and do all of the vocals," he says. "And I had the greatest time. These miraculous machines that they've come up with -- if you're an arranger like I am -- it just turns out to be a candy store and a playground. I had a ball putting this album together." Still, Manilow says he was unsure if he should release the record. Despite its storytelling, third-person narrative nature, he also felt -- because he was its sole creator -- that it might be too personal. His new record label, however -- Concord Records -- soon convinced him otherwise. "I just didn't know whether I wanted to go through with it," he says. "But I showed them a couple of cuts, and they flipped out. It was very encouraging. I said, 'Well, maybe I'm not crazy,' because I loved it. I loved all of the songs, and I liked what I was hearing, but I wasn't sure if anybody else would. But they did, and they encouraged me to put it out. So here I am." Another new Manilow release, Ultimate Manilow, also has the singer excited. The greatest-hits collection was released last month by his former label, Arista Records, and quickly soared to No. 3 on the Billboard Album Chart. It was Manilow's highest chart debut in his career and sold more than 100,000 units in its first week alone. "We were all stunned," Manilow says. "Nobody, including Arista, expected it to behave like that. I've had other greatest-hits albums out, and none of them behaved that way. Nobody was prepared for that amount of sales. It went gold and is on its way to going platinum. So I've got one album out that celebrates the past and one album out that celebrates the future. It's a beautiful place to be right now after all these years." Manilow has had 38 Top-40 hits and has won Grammy, Tony and Emmy awards. He's also been nominated for an Academy Award, and Radio & Records magazine named him the "No. 1 Adult Contemporary Artist of All Time." Still he names none of those milestones as his proudest achievement. "I guess I could point to this or that, but I think I'm the most proud that I stuck to my guns, and I wasn't blown over by the insanity that accompanies this kind of success and fame," he says. "In the beginning, the beautiful popularity can knock you over, and then right after that, all of the negative critical put-downs can knock you over, too. And here I am, back, and still doing what I do. I just never stopped. It may look like a 'comeback,' but frankly, I've been doing this for 30 years. And the thing I'm proudest of is that I'm still hungry and still creative, and I go to the well, and it hasn't seemed to have run dry." |
| March 19, 2002 | The Citizen's Voice | "Manilow dazzles arena audience" by Al Choman, review of Barry's concert at First Union Arena in Wilkes-Barre, PA (March 18, 2002) |
|---|
| One of pop music's consummate showmen, Barry Manilow made another successful return to First Union Arena Monday night as part of the 2001-2002 World Tour and delivered a dazzling two-hour concert of hits, new songs and patriotic anthems before an audience of 7,300. In support of simultaneously released recordings ("Ultimate Manilow" and "Here At The Mayflower"), Manilow shimmered on the brightly lit stage and delivered song after song that indeed makes the whole world sing. And if not the world, certainly to the fans in attendance at the concert. Flanked by two high-resolution projection screens on each side of the stage, Manilow unleashed his litany of silky smooth ballads, crooning in vintage Manilow style. Oh, but he can rock, too, you know. Much like performer Neil Diamond who played the arena recently, Manilow knows his audience well. He writes cleverly crafted pop tunes with mass appeal and can recreate them in concert flawlessly. Backed by a very talented six-piece and an additional complimentary brass section, Manilow glided through renditions of "This One's For You," "Looks Like We Made It," "Mandy," "Bandstand [Boogie]," "[It's A] Miracle" and "Even Now." While some were medley'ed versions versus full-length, their artistic impact was never compromised. Occasionally, he also cautiously tested the waters with tracks from "Here At the Mayflower" as well as selections from the forthcoming stage project entitled "Harmony." Manilow also continues to deliver through costume or arrangement recreation, the mandatory sizzling version of "Copacabana." The only thing that comes close to that wallop in his musical arsenal is "New York City Rhythm," which seems to carry twice the impact since 9/11. The 55-year-old "Brooklyn Kid" performs tirelessly for his audience. Manilow's concert is a non-stop musical sojourn filled with million-selling songs, great accompanying stories and a charismatic banter that his audience devours. Manilow makes you feel like he's there to perform for you personally and that projection translates extremely well. Manilow exacts perfect cadence in his shows. He knows when and where to place the hits and exactly how much of the new material his audience is ready for. He has a tremendous sense of musical structure both in composition and delivery. Students from Abington Heights High School were chosen to give backing support to Manilow on selected songs during Monday night's concert. The students did their school and director proud and received generous applause from the near-capacity audience. Barry Manilow may arguably be his generation's finest American entertainer. The Sinatra of his era? I don't even think that's stretching it too far. He writes the songs all right, and he sings them, and he dances them, and most of all, he delivers on them! |
| March 18, 2002 | Press Release | Manilow Extends 'LIVE2002!' Tour: Acclaimed Singer, Songwriter, Saxophonist Curtis Stigers Jumps On Board to Open |
|---|
| LOS ANGELES, March 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Hot on the heels of the Number Three album in the US, Barry Manilow has expanded his LIVE2002!
Concert Tour to add an additional 30 concerts in major arenas and amphitheaters across the country. Manilow's concerts have been selling out across the United States and have been number 1 in concert grosses for several weeks, as well as holding numerous top-ten spots for concert grosses each week since LIVE2002! hit the road. LIVE2002! highlights songs from Manilow's latest album... "Here At The Mayflower," as well as many of the classics from the "Ultimate Manilow" collection of Greatest Hits. Joining Manilow on the Summer Concert Tour as well as Manilow's upcoming May tour of the UK is noted singer/songwriter/sax man, Curtis Stigers. Stigers new album, "Secret Heart," on Concord Records, is scheduled for release on April 23. Curtis Stigers has enjoyed a career distinguished both by remarkable success and a commitment to taking risks and incorporating diverse influences into his music. He continues to push boundaries, with albums ranging from pop/soul to straight ahead jazz. His rich and expressive voice is the centerpiece of his most upcoming release, "Secret Heart," further proving himself as a pre-eminent performer and interpreter of modern song. Live2002! Summer Concert Tour opens on June 14th at the new City Lights Pavilion in Denver and continues to Kansas City, San Diego, Tucson, Irvine, Salt Lake City, Phoenix, Dallas, San Antonio, Houston, Indianapolis, Nashville, Birmingham, Charlotte, Boston, Saratoga, Philadelphia, and New York. Tickets for "Live2002!" go on sale in April at all Ticketmaster ticket centers. Charge by phone or order online at www.ticketmaster.com. Applicable service charges apply. SOURCE: Concord Records |
| March 17, 2002 | New York Times | "Hip to Be Square: The pop icon talks about loving electronica, his most embarrassing outfits and making it back to the top of the charts" by David Rakoff, Questions for Barry Manilow... |
|---|
NYT: Your album "Ultimate Manilow" made it on to the Billboard Top 10, sharing space with Creed, Jennifer Lopez and Ludacris. When was the last time that happened?
BM: Never. Actually, my life album -- a wax cylinder released back in 1821 -- I think that entered at No. 1 or something. But I've also had the No. 5 independent album, "Here at the Mayflower," which is new material. I haven't made a pop album since the 1980's.
NYT: Why did you walk away from pop? Were you tired of the rampant youth obsession?
BM: No. I felt that I had done everything I know how to do in the pop world. And I was itching to try other styles. Anything but the 32-bar love song. But I've worked steadily. I've been touring and making albums every year or so for 30 years. I've got 32 albums out.
NYT: With 32 albums, is there time for interests outside of music? No fetish for fars or orchids?
BM: I read; I go to the movies; I hang out with my friends. But music is really my life and my hobby. After this tour, I'm producing an original album for Diane Schuur. And then I've got this Broadway musical called "Harmony," which should be in New York this time next year. I've always got a million projects, and they're always about music.
NYT: You never get blocked?
BM: The well has not run dry, thank goodness. I do what I do. I've got a very small slice of the pie, but it's mine. It's all I can do. And it's what I stand for. I stand for emotional, truthful pop music.
NYT: You were sort of always more Tin Pan Alley than CBGB.
BM: That's true. The first professional pop song I ever wrote was called "Could It Be Magic?" which I based on Chopin's Prelude in C minor. The song came in at eight minutes. I didn't know that I wasn't supposed to write a song that was over two minutes long. That's how out-of-touch with pop music I was. I still am.
NYT: So what pop music do you listen to?
BM: I don't listen to pop music. I listen to jazz and classical music. I listen to Broadway. But I've never really been a pop-music fan. For those 10 years, I found myself at the top of the charts surrounded by "Boogie Oogie Oogie" and "Kung Fu Fighting." I'm sure all these people are very talented, but I wuold much rather listen to my old Sarah Vaughan albums. Actually I'm a big fan of what I guess they call electronica. My favorite albums these days are Basement Jaxx and Underworld and Groove Armada.
NYT: So might one extrapolate from all this that being older is better than being younger for you?
BM: Well, I feel more comfortable in my skin right now. This career lightning bolt is more enjoyable this time around. I was numb the first time. I don't even remember it. This time it's very sweet. I think when success hits young people -- and I say a little prayer for the young people that are getting hit with it -- it knocks you off your feet.
NYT: Do you think that having actual music training stood you in good stead?
BM: Yes. I think that definitely helped. I never considered myself a performer. I always consider myself a musician first. But what also helped was my being raised in New York, which gives you a great... this is The New York Times, so let's call it a baloney detector. Coming from Brooklyn, you just know when people are being honest or not.
NYT: But, surely, now people must still say yes to you more than they say no.
BM: I've really tried to not surround myself with people who do that. And certainly the critics have raked me over the coals for many years. Although not anymore. For some reason, everybody seems to be coming around.
NYT: Does a long career necessarily mean embarrassment?
BM: We all have those things in our past that we'd rather never see again. I've got those pictures of me in that stupid Copacabana jacket. It was this ridiculously huge, ruffled, Desi Arnaz, Babaloo thing. We sent it to the Smithsonian. Actually they asked for it. And they sent it back!
|
| March 15, 2002 | News-Times On-Line (Connecticut) | "Barry Manilow: Even Now Veteran singer-entertainer plays 5 shows at Foxwoods" by David Freidman, interview with Barry in promotion of his five shows at Foxwoods Casino's Fox Theatre in Mashantucket, CT (March 21-24) |
|---|
| He's earned two Grammy Awards, three Emmys, three American Music Awards, a Tony Award and a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records. And he is the reason why fans have been buying albums and coming to concerts since the '70s. But singer-pianist Barry Manilow is literally thrilled to talk about keyboardist Ron Pedley, musical director-keyboardist Steve Welch, guitarist Mike Lent, bassist Stan Sargeant, percussionist Mike Faue and drummer Russ McKinnon. "This is my first interview where they're naming my musicians," Manilow said in a Feb. 12 interview from his home in Los Angeles. "That's great. They are so talented, man. You know, people ask me, 'Who inspires you a lot?' And I always answer, 'It's my band.' These guys, God, they are just tremendously gifted. And they're such good men, too. I mean, there's no craziness, no drugs, no wildness. They're just good guys with incredible talent. They are inspiring. We are all a team behind this show, me included. And all we care about is putting on the best two hours of our life that night." Manilow has been taking that work ethic to heart for more than 30 years now. A look back at his storied career reveals a man of humble beginnings who never set out to be in the spotlight but has embraced his fans from day one ... Manilow was born Barry Alan Pincus and grew up in the slum-ridden Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, N.Y. His mother, Edna, was just 19 when he was born. Manilow's father was nowhere to be found; instead, the future star was raised by his grandparents, who were Russian immigrants. When Manilow turned 13, he "inherited" a stepfather when his mother married Willie Murphy. Under Murphy's guidance, Manilow traded in his accordion for a piano. He brought into my little apartment a stack of records that changed my life. He was a truck driver, but one of the most brilliant men I ever met. He was very well read, very up on the day's politics. And, musically, he had the best taste of anybody I've ever met. These records were all jazz and Broadway show music and scores of classical music. And it changed my life. I'd call it my stack of gold that I dove into and memorized every note, every lyric, every arrangement, every orchestration. I always knew I was a musical person, but I didn't know what to do with it until Willie came in and brought with him this wonderful stack of music. It sent me going in the direction of music." In 1971, Manilow caught a break of his own, joining Bette Midler as her accompanist in bathhouse and nightclub concerts. Midler exposed Manilow to a whole new audience and let him open her second act with three or four songs each night. He remembers Midler as being "intense, professional and terribly smart." Shortly after producing platinum and Grammy winning albums for Midler, Manilow signed a solo deal with Bell Records, which later became Arista. Between 1974 and '79, Manilow churned out the No. 1 ballad "Mandy" and the No. 1 hits "I Write the Songs" and "Copacabana (At the Copa)." Other Top 10 hits included "Even Now" and "It's A Miracle." All told, Manilow had 25 straight Top 40 hits, including 11 singles that reached No. 1. "It really was amazing," Manilow said. "I do attribute it to my collaboration with (record executive) Clive Davis. I would either come up with them or he would find them for me. And I would go into the studio and produce and arrange them and sing them. Some of them he found; some of them I would write. But, honestly, it was a very close collaboration. He's the guy who has the ears for pop singles and pop radio. I do not. I write the stuff, produce it (and) do the best work I can. But I'm really not good at guessing what the public is gonna like. Clive knows. So I attribute those 10 years of top 10 records to his instincts." All the while, Manilow set out to be a positive role model for his fans, for whom he has a genuine appreciation to this day. "I want people to feel good," Manilow said. "I want them to feel uplifted. I don't want them to feel angry, I don't want them to go out and rob a bank or hurt people. I want to make them feel good with my music. That's what that music did to me - it made me feel great. When I was listening to the 'Overture' from the musical 'The Most Happy Fella,' it would bring tears to my eyes, it would make my toes tap, it would make me smile, it would elicit emotions in me that I wouldn't have normally. That's what I wanted to do for people." Manilow has delivered for his fans time and time again. But for 12 years following 1989's "Barry Manilow" LP, he stopped releasing albums of new original material ... Instead, Davis and Manilow came up with what they called "event albums" year after year. The albums continued to go gold and platinum, and Manilow even earned two Grammy nominations for 1998's "Manilow Sings Sinatra" [album]. Manilow has since returned to his pop roots, releasing a long-awaited album of new originals Nov. 13, 2001. The CD, "Here at the Mayflower," shares the name of an apartment building that was just around the corner from Manilow in his youth. But that's where the similarity ends. Manilow wrote the album about a fictitious apartment complex and different people who live in it. "I woke up with the idea," Manilow said. "It came to me one morning - actually, 20 years ago. And I jotted down the idea and then I jotted down a couple of titles and what kind of songs I could write. And then I put it away. And then I looked at it again, like a couple years later, and I wrote one song. And then I put that away. A couple years later, I pulled out the envelope again and I'd write down a couple of titles and I called one of my collaborators and we'd write one. And then I'd put that away. It just happened over and over for about 15 or 18 years until I would come up with about 30 songs. Some were fragments or ideas; some were completed. And a couple of years ago, I just decided I was gonna complete the whole thing, put it all together and see if it all hung together. And it did." The album's first single, "Turn the Radio Up," is in the Top 30 on the adult contemporary charts. Manilow, who is single and enjoys reading, watching movies and spending time with family and friends, said he has been developing "an element of gratitude" over the past several years. He no longer takes things for granted, as he did at times in the '70s. Manilow will draw from his entire catalog of classic songs for his Connecticut shows. He'll also play songs from the "Mayflower" album. He will continue playing weekend shows through May. After that, he'll begin writing and producing a new album by jazz singer Diane Schuur. Manilow has also written a musical called "Harmony" with longtime collaborator and songwriting partner Bruce Sussman. Manilow expects that the show will be on Broadway in the winter of 2003. What makes Manilow want to continue to perform in concert decades into his career? "There's a feeling in the air when I get on the stage that is so warm and exciting and comforting these days," said Manilow, who will be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in June. "There's a feeling in this room that I've never felt before. And it's happened for year after year after year. Yeah, you know, the planes are late and the room service is cold and my voice is hoarse and it's tiring and all. But when the lights go down and the music kicks in and this evening starts, there is this feeling in these rooms that is so beautiful that it makes me want to come back for more." |
| March 11, 2002 | Richmond Times-Dispatch | "A letter to a loved showman: Barry Manilow's dazzle on display" by Melissa Ruggieri, response to Barry's concert at the Landmark Theater in Richmond, VA (March 10, 2002) |
|---|
| Dear Barry ... After 30 years in show business, there aren't many who possess your dazzle, your unparalleled ability to tweak the supple high notes of "Mandy" or the high-stepping rhythm of "[Bandstand Boogie]" and make them sound almost new ... Last night you sounded the most robust I've heard you in 20 years. One might have expected some wavering on those long ending notes of "Ready to Take a Chance Again" and "Looks Like We Made It," but you nailed them every time. Since you have a new album to promote - "Here at the Mayflower" - some of the 3,500 fans in attendance might have worried that you would ignore the classics in favor of unfamiliar material. You handled that dilemma with deft planning. Hardly a Manilow standard was forgotten, as you and your sharp six-piece band and mini-brass section fluidly worked through "Somewhere in the Night," "This One's for You," "Even Now" and, even though it was abbreviated, my favorite tune, "Could It Be Magic" (must have something to do with that Sweet Melissa line). You spent ample time on some fresh stuff. It helps that these songs are good. Darn good in the case of the tender, poignant "Not What You See," a song about Esther and Joe, the oldest couple living in the Mayflower building. The perky "Turn the Radio Up" [is] so catchy ... When your latest hits collection, Ultimate Manilow, bowed three weeks ago [on Billboard], it did so at No. 3, right up there with Creed, Jennifer Lopez and Ludacris. That must mean something. Thanks for sharing a couple of tunes from your upcoming Broadway musical, "Harmony." When most artists debut new music at a concert, it signals a rush to the bathroom. When you did it with the showstopping "Harmony" ballad, "[Every Single Day]," you earned a standing ovation. That was also sweet of you to dedicate a few minutes to a local couple in the audience, Kevin and Paige, who got engaged. And how cool to serenade them with "The Best of Me". Thanks also for verifying on stage that you didn't write some of your biggest hits - "Mandy" and "I Write the Songs" among them. People love to argue with me about that, but coming from you, it's gospel. By the end of your two-hour show, in which you barely broke a sweat (you looked great, by the way, in that purple-hued jacket), most fans weren't sure how you would top record-perfect renditions of "Copacabana (At the Copa)" and "I Write the Songs." Rolling out the patriotism fit the requirement. "Do what you love to do in your life. This is not a rehearsal, this is it," you said before a stirring version of "My Country 'Tis of Thee." Words to live by, for sure. But it was when you trotted out the spectacular local choir, Rejoice, for your own "Let Freedom Ring" and unfurled a mammoth American flag that only the stoniest of hearts were dry-eyed. It was good to see you again. Don't wait so long to come back. |
| March 7, 2002 | Press Release | ULTIMATE MANILOW Strikes Gold!!! Gold!!! Gold!!! Gold!!! |
|---|
| NEW YORK, March 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Twenty-seven years after becoming the first artist on the brand new Arista Records label to earn an RIAA gold record (for the #1 hit, "Mandy," certified on January 31, 1975), Barry Manilow proves that his music still has the magic touch, as ULTIMATE MANILOW bullets past the 500,000 unit gold mark in just one month, it was announced today by Antonio ``L.A.'' Reid, President and CEO, Arista Records. "There is no one in the entertainment world like Barry Manilow," said Reid. "Simply stated ... he's just very cool! His success is truly special to me and I am thrilled and honored to be involved in his illustrious career." ULTIMATE MANILOW is the most comprehensive single-CD collection of his career. Included among ULTIMATE MANILOW's 20 tracks is every one of his hits to reach #1 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary and Hot 100 charts from 1974 to '84 -- "Mandy," "It's a Miracle," "Tryin' To Get the Feeling Again," "I Write the Songs," "This One's For You," "Looks Like We Made It," "Weekend In New England," "Can't Smile Without You," "Even Now," "The Old Songs," and "Somewhere Down the Road" plus nine more signature songs. ULTIMATE MANILOW is the first release under the newly formed BMG Heritage label in partnership with Arista Records. Last month, it was announced that Barry Manilow would be among this year's inductees to the National Academy of Popular Music/Songwriters Hall of Fame, along with Sting, Michael Jackson, Randy Newman, and the duo of Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson. The 33rd annual induction and awards dinner, one of the most prestigious events in the popular music calendar, is set for June 13th at the Sheraton New York Hotel. |
| March 7, 2002 | ABCNEWS.com - Entertainment | "I Did It for Barry: A Trek to Milwaukee to Pay Tribute to the Man Who Makes the Whole World Sing" by Heidi Oringer |
|---|
| ...I was raised on Barry Manilow. My mother played it in the house religiously on Sundays... We'd stop and sing along on occasion. When the album was over, I'd run down to the "hi-fi" and put on another one. My mom and I would cry when we heard "Even Now" because my grandfather had died and the words seemed poignant at the time. We'd pick up the pace on the vacuuming when "At the Copa" was playing. When I first heard "Weekend in New England," I thought I understood love, and wondered when MY eyes would meet those of the boy I had fawned over for my entire sixth-grade year. Barry was also the first concert I ever attended and my mother was the one who took me. Back in those days, it seemed we couldn't smile without Barry. He did, indeed, write the songs that made the whole world sing... At the show (in Milwaukee, WI, March 2nd), he sang almost every one of his hits. He sounded exactly as he did all those years ago. The women screeched when he unbuttoned his jacket and gasped when he moved his pelvis. Even the men tapped their feet to "New York City Rhythm." It was good, clean fun. Barry also performed several songs from his new album, Here At The Mayflower. He ended the evening with "Let Freedom Ring," which he proudly belted out surrounded by a choir of students from the Milwaukee area. There were lights. There was confetti. The audience loved it and Barry loved them. For more than two hours, it was 1978 all over again ... My mom was the headband-clad woman in her 30s who told me what to do and what to listen to and also paid for everything. And Barry was still Barry. Barry is still Barry. And he was worth the trip. |
| March 6, 2002 | Richmond.com Calendar | "Is "Mandy" the Dog? An interview with the man who makes the whole world sing" by Colleen Curran |
|---|
Richmond.com: Were you surprised by the sales of "Ultimate Manilow?"
Barry Manilow: Yes, I am. I'm more than surprised, I'm absolutely stunned.RC: I hear younger kids are seeing your shows now.
BM: That's what I attribute this gigantic rush in sales to. Unless I'm deluded, I look out at my audiences these days and the average age has just dropped. Drastically. RC: Do you see any kids with piercings and pink hair?
BM: Yes, I do actually. I see a lot of young guys, with their fists in the air, wearing T-shirts of unpronounceable groups. Yeah, it's very surprising. It's kind of gratifiying. I think that they're dead serious about it. I don't think you can get this music anywhere, I'm sorry to say. I think I'm one of the few people actually touring, who actually has a popular show. I think they are really, really enjoying it. RC: Do you remember the Muppet version of "Copacabana" ... with Liza Minelli. Did you ever see it?
BM: I think someone showed me a videotape of it many, many, many, many years ago and it was adorable. RC: What do you think Lola would be doing now, 20 years later? I can kind of see her. Sipping a daquiri on the beach.
BM: Well, the poor thing. I think she'd probably be in some old age home. Still thinking of Tony ... I think she'd probably be up in her 60s and 70s. She was heartbroken, I think. RC: I remember hearing that "Mandy" was a dog's name. Is that an urban legend?
BM: I didn't write "Mandy," it was written by Richard Kerr and Scott English. And Scott English was being bugged by the press when it came out. They kept asking him, "Who is Mandy?" He tells the story that they woke him up one morning at 6:30 a.m. He picked up the phone and it was a member of the British tabloid. And they asked him once again, "Who's Mandy?" And he said, "It was my dog, and I sent her away. Now you go away." And he hung up. And of course, the British tabloids are so horrendous and they're so disgusting, that they actually printed it as if it was the truth. And so that's how I think it got started. RC: What's your stage show like for the uninitiated?
BM: It's a beautiful show. A combination of the hits and a nice chunk of brand new material, which the audience is absolutely nuts for. Which is also very gratifying. When an artist decides to present new material to an audience who has come for the old material, that is always a scary moment. But these audiences are nuts about the new material. So that's really great. RC: I like "Turn up the Radio." It sounds like "Classic Barry Manilow."
BM: Well, that's it. That's what I did it for. You know, this is my first pop album in many, many years. Almost all the other albums over the last 10 years were cover albums, in one way or another. RC: Is it as much fun touring now?
BM: It's even more fun now than ever before. I don't tour as energetically as I did. I do it on weekends. I go out and play with my band, sing for the crowd. Then I go home like a real person, with a real life. RC: What do you listen to while you cook?
BM: What's in my CD player now? Let's see. Uhm. I either go from the electronica world, which I'm nuts about. From Groove Armada to Underworld, to Everything But the Girl. That world, that definitely turns me on. Or I go back to my old CD's which I love. Chet Baker, Billie Holiday, Bill Evans and Shirley Horn. That's where I go back and forth. I don't particularly like the mid-ground, pop, rap, rock 'n' roll. I mean, I listen to it when I have to. But I don't particularly take pleasure in it. RC: If you had to choose one band from the Gen X , Gen Y you would most like to perform with, who would it be?
BM: I say, Groove Armada. RC: What do you think of the boy bands? Would you choose one of those?
BM: I could (sighs). They're coming close to writing and performing songs the way I know they can be written. Songs with melodies, ideas, lyrics. You know, singable songs. I mean, it's kids' stuff. But it's nice. RC: If you could resurrect any dead performer to perform with, who would it be?
BM: I guess it would be Sinatra. RC: Did you ever meet him?
BM: I met him, but he was ailing. So I never really got to see him the way I would like to. RC: Did you ever get to talk to him?
BM: Yeah, sure. As a matter of fact, when I was exploding in the '70s, word was that he pointed to me and said to somebody, "He's next." And he was right (laughs). RC: Barry Manilow fans had a bad rap for a while there.
BM: They did. RC: But Barry's hip again. Any words of advice for weathering the ups and downs?
BM: Here's the way you do it: You don't look up. You just burrow into your work and believe in what you do. That's where it starts and where it ends. Create the most beautiful work you can and just believe in what you do. Ultimately, somebody will get it. RC: How long will you keep making music?
BM: They'll be carrying me to my grave and I'll be yelling, "Wait a minute, I have one more idea." RC: Any message I can tell my mom, special from Barry Manilow?
BM: Here's my message: Thanks for all the years. |
| March 5, 2002 | People.com | "Barry Manilow Is One Really Cool Guy" by Stephen M. Silverman: Another blast from the past: The New York Times reports that Barry Manilow is hot. True. Never a darling of the critics (detractors have long referred to him as "Barry Marshmallow"), the Brooklyn-born troubadour who wrote Top 40 chart-busting songs in the late '70s and into the early '80s ("Mandy," "Ready to Take a Chance Again," "Copacabana") is now back at No. 22 on Billboard's adult contemporary chart. For that he can thank an airy single, "Turn the Radio Up," from an album he released last November, Here at the Mayflower, named for a building near his childhood home in the New York borough. The sales ranking puts him in the company of stars such as Celine Dion, Enrique Iglesias and Jewel, The Times notes. More astoundingly, the paper says outright, is that in this post-gangsta rap era, "Ultimate Manilow" (a new collection of Manilow's greatest hits) debuted three weeks ago as No. 3 on the Billboard charts. "Oh, Barry is very cool," Arista chief Antonio Reid, whose label has Manilow in its fold, told The Times. "Very cool," Reid added with a chuckle. While The Times is hesitant to label this resurgence of Manilow as a full-fledged comeback, it does admit that he is on a hot streak. Says the man himself: "A new generation is discovering this wonderful catalog of well-crafted songs ... I stand for something that most guys don't stand for: honest emotion." Honestly. |
|---|
| March 5, 2002 | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | "Me and Mr. Copacabana: confessions of an invisible fan" by Tony Norman |
|---|
| For the first time ever, I'm coming out of the closet about my youthful love of Barry Manilow. Anyone who was a teen-ager in the mid- to late-'70s remembers what a volatile period it was musically. There was a nascent movement called punk percolating on the margins. Hip-hop was incubating in the Bronx. Meanwhile, rock music was shaking a very slick death rattle on "Don Kirshner's Rock Concert" every week. In West Philly, R&B and the earliest versions of disco dominated the airwaves. I liked Earth, Wind & Fire and Parliament as much as the next boy in the 'hood, but I was afraid that black radio's insularity was stifling my imagination... One day while flipping around the FM dial, I heard a beautiful pop ditty called "Mandy." The guy singing it was the anti-Barry White. Barry Manilow was devoid of that ineffable something called "soul" but he had heart to spare. He was an odd-looking guy completely at home with his emotions. It was something I could aspire to. After living in New York for brief periods with relatives, I developed something approaching a passing familiarity with the strange worlds of punk, new wave and rap. Still, I preferred the melodic coherence of Barry Manilow's music to punk's snarling, even when I knew better. Being into Manilow when all my buddies were swearing allegiance to Patti Smith or Afrika Bambaataa seemed an infinitely more rebellious act at the time. It's not that I didn't like my friends' music; it simply took me longer to "get it." Liking Barry Manilow didn't require a whole lot of work. I lost interest in Barry Manilow shortly after "Even Now" came out in 1978. A painter friend played Bob Dylan's first album for me around that time... Dylan's voice stuck in my head. Manilow's became unstuck. Soon, I was boxing up my extensive collection of soft-rock classics to sell on consignment at The Wooden Shoe, a socialist bookstore in Center City. Bread and the Carpenters eventually sold. But my Manilows sat in the bins for a decade until the store made the switch to CDs only. Yesterday, The New York Times reported Manilow is now "cool." A gushing Jon Stewart interviewed him on "The Daily Show." His collection of greatest hits, "Ultimate Manilow," is riding the charts and he has a new hit single: "Turn the Radio Up." It's nice to know I was ahead of my time for once. |
|
